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TIM JOHNSON EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE RETIREMENT: Sen. Tim Johnson is expected to announce that he won’t be running for reelection in 2014 during a news conference at the University of South Dakota at 4 p.m. today, opening up another potential pick-up seat for Senate Republicans. Johnson, the No. 2 Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and chairman of the Banking Committee, is 66 years old and carried 62.5 percent of the vote in 2008 after recovering from a brain bleed. With his retirement not coming as a surprise, several candidates from both parties have been heavily mentioned in recent months. Here’s a quick rundown.

Democrats:Stephanie Herseth Sandlin represented South Dakota in the House from 2004 until 2011, when she was unseated by Republican Kristi Noem. Sandlin served on the Natural Resources and Agriculture committees, as well as the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming that Republicans dropped after taking over the House in the same election. A member of the Blue Dog Coalition, Herseth Sandlin joined the national steering committee of the 25x'25 Alliance, which seeks to boost renewable energy to make up a quarter of the U.S.'s portfolio by 2025, after leaving Congress. In 2012, she gave $1,000 to Matt Varilek, the Democrat who challenged and lost to Noem.

The other oft-mentioned potential candidate is Brendan Johnson, Johnson’s son and the U.S. attorney for South Dakota, serving since 2009. The younger Johnson has given Herseth Sandlin's campaigns $5,300 over a period of several years, as well as $1,300 to President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, according to FEC records.

Republicans: Former Gov. Mike Rounds announced last year he would make a run for Johnson’s seat. Rounds hasn’t yet filed a disclosure of his campaign activity with the FEC, but according to records, he’s already picked up $1,500 from the Petroleum Marketers Association of America’s PAC. Rounds’s bare-bones campaign website touts “substantial advancement of the ethanol and wind energy sectors” during his time as governor. In 2011, Rounds joined the board of directors for ITC Holdings, which describes itself as the U.S.’s “largest independent electricity transmission company.”

Rep. Kristi Noem, the Republican who unseated Herseth Sandlin in 2010, is another potential GOP contender. A member of the Natural Resources Committee, Noem in 2011 spearheaded legislation blocking EPA from regulating farm dust, something the agency said it had no intention of doing (Noem’s bill sailed through the House but went nowhere in the Democrat-controlled Senate). In the last election cycle, Noem brought in over $95,000 from the oil and gas industry and more than $42,000 from electric utilities, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In 2012, two of her top three donors were in the energy business: Between PACs and employees, Moyle Petroleum gave Noem nearly $30,000, while biofuel firm POET gave her $17,500, according to the CRP. The American Wind Energy Association and Harm Oil tied for eighth place, each giving her $10,000.

OREGON, WASHINGTON GOVERNORS PUSH W.H. ON COAL EXPORTS: The White House Council on Environmental Quality needs to take a position on the effects on climate change of exporting vast amounts of coal to Asia via Pacific Northwest ports before the states make up their mind on issuing permits and give the green light to expensive infrastructure investments, two governors say. CEQ should “undertake and complete a thorough examination of the greenhouse gas and other air quality effects of continued coal leasing and export before the U.S. and its partners make irretrievable long-term investments in expanding this trade,” Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee wrote Monday to CEQ chief Nancy Sutley. The governors also urged the government to investigate whether companies are putting in low bids for coal from public lands that is then sold for much higher prices abroad, echoing a similar complaint made recently by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee leaders. The governors’ letter: http://politico.pro/ZnR5V0

— Inslee also wrote to the state’s ecology director and top environmental regulator, Maia Bellon, about his letter to Sutley. “Washington state must remain committed to a rigorous, fair and objective process to review these applications, within the scope of our laws,” he wrote. “I know you share this commitment and will execute your regulatory role accordingly.” Read: http://politico.pro/10H7bh2

Inslee climate bill clears Legislature: The first bill backed by Inslee, dealing with greenhouse gas emissions, cleared the state Legislature yesterday. The Olympian: “Under the measure, an outside consultant would review both Washington state's ongoing efforts to cut carbon emissions and similar endeavors elsewhere. It would then report back to the governor and a group of legislative leaders, who would in turn create a report to present to the full Legislature by the end of the year.” Olympian: http://bit.ly/YE8CJx

** A message from America's Natural Gas Alliance: The safe and responsible development of natural gas supports more than 2.8 million jobs across the country. Curious what the economic benefit is for your state? Find out by using our interactive U.S. map at http://bit.ly/TIZPJJ. **

SALAZAR TOUTS RENEWABLES, CUTTING OIL IMPORTS: In a farewell speech to department personnel yesterday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar touted work by his agency and the administration at large to boost renewable energy and cut oil imports. “We are proud of the fact that in less than four years we were able to double the amount of renewable energy that we are producing in the United States of America. We’ve captured the power of the sun and the power of the wind and the power of geothermal, and we are doing more for renewable energy than has been done in the history of the United States of America,” Salazar said. “Today we are at a point where we’re importing less than 40 percent of our oil from foreign countries, and it’s been because of the all-of-the-above energy strategy which has been implemented by the president and his entire team.”

ROUSE PRAISES SALAZAR FOR PUSHING FOR NEW MONUMENTS: House Republicans criticized the president for using the Antiquities Act to designate five new national monuments yesterday, but the White House doesn’t seem too concerned about it. Obama adviser Pete Rouse praised Salazar for “arguing for a greater commitment to America’s great outdoors, particularly right in the middle of the time when we were negotiating with Republicans to cut $800 million out of the budget. And most recently Ken was making a persuasive case to expand the national park system right in the middle of sequestration,” Rouse said to laughter.

But only one: Rouse added: “I should also add on a lighter note, I remember telling Ken during the dark days of Deepwater Horizon that it would actually be OK to get one good night of sleep a week.”

PUMP WATCH: The average price of gasoline ticked down slightly again from last week, down two cents to $3.67 for a gallon of gas, according to AAA. That's down 11 cents from a month ago and is 23 cents less than a year ago. While prices have mostly been going down recently, AAA cautions that there could still be a peak coming “because there is still refinery maintenance to be completed and much of the country has yet to transition to summer-blend gasoline,” the group said in its weekly report.

CBO SCORES GOP HYDRO BILL: H.R. 678, which would give NEPA exemptions to small hydropower projects, would increase the federal government’s offsetting receipts by $1 million from 2014 to 2023, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Removing the environmental review helps cut down prohibitive costs for the projects, sponsor Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) says, and the legislation would up receipts for the government by switching agency jurisdiction for some projects from FERC (which doesn’t collect funds from developers) to the Bureau of Reclamation. The bill made it out of the Natural Resources Committee last week on a 17-12 party-line vote, a departure from recent bipartisan feelings on hydropower legislation.

COURT TOSSES ALASKA CHALLENGE TO ROADLESS RULE: The D.C. district court has tossed a lawsuit brought by the state of Alaska challenging the Clinton administration’s 2001 midnight Roadless Rule, which protects back-country forest areas from logging. Alaska’s suit comes following a long string of court fights. The Bush administration carved out an exemption for the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, but that was struck down in 2011 and the full rule was reinstated. In an opinion issued Monday, the court said it’s been too long: The six year statute of limitations ran out far before the 2011 ruling, and going back to it now would upset “the balance struck by Congress between administrative finality and the interests of litigants,” the court said: http://politico.pro/14qxg7w

Another option is still on the backburner: Just last month Alaska Sens. Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski reintroduced their bill to repeal the Roadless Rule.

XCEL CONTINUES LOBBYIST HIRING SPREE: Xcel Energy isn’t letting up on its registrations with new lobbyists in D.C. The utility company has picked up Patrick Murphy of 3 Click Solutions, Xcel’s fourth new external lobbyist hire since February.

MOVER, SHAKER: Mandy Mahoney has taken over as president at the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance, a subsidiary of the Alliance to Save Energy. Mahoney previously served as sustainability director for two Atlanta mayors.

QUICK HITS

— A Wyoming judge has ruled that the individual ingredients used in fracking are trade secrets and protected under state law. Star-Tribune: http://bit.ly/14kw19L

— Peru has declared an environmental emergency in a remote region of the Amazon jungle the government says is affected by extended contamination from oil fields. AP: http://apne.ws/16ebimn

— Wu Xinxiong, the former chairman of China's State Electricity Regulatory Commission, is the new head of China's top energy regulator, the National Energy Administration. Reuters: http://reut.rs/103P3vC

— The Transportation Department is proposing $1.7 million in penalties against ExxonMobil over the July 2011 pipeline spill into the Yellowstone River. AP: http://bit.ly/14kANEj

** A message from America's Natural Gas Alliance: We believe in a clean energy future. Natural gas is a cleaner energy choice and a key partner to solar and wind technologies. From California to Florida, natural gas facilities are working with renewable energy to ensure steady, affordable and cleaner energy choices for communities across our nation. Because it is an abundant and affordable energy source available right here in America, natural gas can help make the promise of cleaner energy a reality in more American communities. Natural gas is smarter power today. Visit anga.us to learn more. **